The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1887-05-04


in the gulley, twenty-five foot lower'n
the clearin'. An speakin' o. sucker fish
in, sonny, yen see, fore l git through
with this leetle anecdote, th't th' was
suckers in the creeks in them days. TIL
haint none in 'em now, but thuz many
o. one outen the creeks, an big un's,
too. Wall, wen come in sight o. whar
oil Sloplick orter been iist more thin bill
ing, OWN to the hard rains, l almos'
tumbled back in faintin' fit. Th'
WANT no Sloplick tharl The bed o. the
creek were dryer'n a salt herrin' Ez fur ez
could see down the creek, a picked
chicken couldn't ben no barer thin
them rocks on the bottom was. The
creek had fall o. more'n twenty foot to
the miled, an even in low water went
down by thar, on its way to the river
three miled below, like peeled hemlock
log down roll way, an thar she were,
arter all them rains, dry an empty from
bank to bank. Peleg, were skeert, and
l tuck to tremblin' wuss thin hungry
dog at daylight on frosty morn
in. l thort the world were comm
to an end right thar an then. Pooty
soon got stiddy enough to look up the
creek, an then were skeert wuss'n ever,
fer bout q quarter of miled away, in
that direction, thar were the creek agoin'
up stream ez fast ez it could tearl Coin
right up that big grade o. twenty foot to
the miled, Peleg, like a train o. keers
Wen | see that jist Topped right down
an waited fer the earthquakes an Gabriel
to come followin' along, acrackin' an
atootin'. l laid thar awhile, but they
didn't neither on 'em come, an the creek
KEEP aclimbin' up to'ards its headwaters,
zif it'd ben sent fer to come back hum
an hadn't no time to spare gittin' thar.
It were movin' back'ards in flood more'n
thirty foot high, ez nigh ez l could jedge
from seein' the gable end of it, and pooty
soon noticed that tn were a heap o.
commotion on the edge of it.
"'Wall, says to myself, gittin' up
onter my feet, 'th' can't be nothin' to
hurt Teller in a food th't's doin' its
best TO run away from him like
quit waitin' fer Gabriel an the 'arth-
quakes, says l, AN IL jist start arter that
creek an see waits ailin' on it to
make it go an cut up that way says 1.
So away dug ez tight ex my legs'd
carry me, but the creek had got such a
start o. me that it tuck me a good half
hour fore ketched up with it. An ez
soon ez did ketch up with it, my son,
see to wunst wat were ailin' on it. Ye
must know, to git the hang o. this, Peleg,
th't suckers starts fer the creeks on the
fust high water th't comes in the spring,
an th't they gether together by the boat
load at the mouths of creeks waitin' feI
the food th't tells 'em things is ready fer
'em up the creek, an then up they go.
That had been an onusu'l good season for
suckers to winter over in, an they had
waxed an crowd fat, an gethered in
such uncommon big crowds, th't wen
they started in at the mouth o. Sloplick
Creek that ninth day o. April, they jest
damned the hull course o. the stream, an
fer time it had been nip an tuck ez to
witch ID hef to stop, the creek or the
suckers But in them days suckers had
vim an push in 'em, These fellers at the
mouth o. Sloplick had started to git up
that creek, an 'twa'n't their fault, b'gosh,
if it couldn't furnish water enough, with
all the rain it d had fer a week past, fer
'em to wiggle up on; so they jist put their
shoulders to the wheel, an at it they
went, an showed the rushin' food of oil
/ Slopliek right back with 'eln, pilin' it up
in wall thirty foot high, an keepin' her
a movin' back so fast, steep ez the grade
were, th't she couldn't git no footholt,
an had to GO So, of course, ev'rything
were left high an dry ahind that pushin'
army o. suckers, an natur' in them parts
were lookin' queer.
"Peleg, when / ketched up to that re-
| treatin' creek, nothin could be seen on
tails, an fins, an backs, an bellies o.
suckers. They was piled on one another
from the bed o. the creek to the top O.
the food, pushin' an shown and crowd
in to keep the ball rollin'. l see wat
the hull business meant to wunst, an
pitched right in to do some o. the tallest
sucker fishin' tht were ever heered on
along Sloplick Creek. / chucked away
my pole and duv inter that bank o
suckers an jist went to minin' fish by the
ton. They KEEP me on dead run to keeI
up with 'em, they was h'istin' that stream
up hill so fast, but grabbed an clawed
right an left, an throw'd suckers out OF
the bank by the wagon load strung
suckers along the banks fer a miled, an
still the food went rollin' up hill ez easy
ez pickin' up sticks. The headwaters o
Sloplick Creek was in a swamp almost OF
theesop. o. BOBBY Ridge. Ez were run
MIN long ahind that sucker bank all of &
suddent it struck me that if nothin' hap.
pened to stop 'em, them suckers'd shove
the creek clean through the swamp, thu
way they was goin', and push her on owe
the ridge, and then she'd go tehoot dowr
t'other side, and an wipe Slayeropl
clearing often the face o. creation quick
erin lightnin' could melt tub of butter
| were bound to see the fun, an if suck
ers want the timidest an skeeriest crit
tiers th't swims, that fun ID come t.
pass
"It had happened, sonny, th't onl.
the other day afOre this high OF sucke
fishin' o. mine, l had considered it a lee
tie piece o. duty l owed to the commu
nifty to pitch inter Shadrack Jamberry
OF Poke Jamberry's boy, an lam hin
the properest kind. Consistently he haC
a grudge agin me. He lived close to tn
: creek, nearly two miled above our place